The Cork County U9 to U14 Track & Field Championships took place in the unfamiliar setting of Banteer on an Astroturf surface. Credit to the Cork County Board for improvisation to ensure the competition took place, a first outing for many of the Carraig Na BhFear underage contingent.
Our youngest group coached by Paul and Yvonne all put in great performances on the day. Doubling up in the boys 60m and 600m we had Ben O’Leary, Liam and Aidan Walsh. Zen Barry, Ted Pierse and Dara Quinlan showed good pace in the Boys U11 60m. Ruth O’Sullivan and Emma Forde also competing well in the girls U11 60m. Well done to all competing.
Our U12 to U14’s coached by Willie and Eileen competed very well also, valuable experience gained at a very competitive level. Ewan Twohig had an impressive debut in the club singlet, 3 rd place in the U12 60m heat but bowed out at the semi-final stage. Eabha McNamara also took on the 60m sprint with a solid performance. Cahal Walsh competing in the 600m was impeded by a faller in front of him, he battled on bravely but unfortunately had too much ground to make up but will be back as determined as ever. Laoighse Nott doubled up in the U13 girls 60m and 600m with good performances in both races. It was a competition debut also for Antonia Twohig and Rebecca McCarty in the U14 girls 80m where they both impressed in their heats, Rebecca a little unfortunate being placed in a heat that featured some of the fastest runners in the competition. Hannah Coffey had a typically strong finish in the U14 800m but had to settle for 5 th place as the leaders held on in the last 200m. Our sole medal of the day was awarded to Allie Phillips in the U14 800m, Allie showed good tactical awareness to track the leader and cover the changes in pace to win a well-deserved silver medal. Congratulations to Allie. In Summary, a good day’s competition with all our young athletes stepping up to the challenge of competition at the next level.
There was much success for our older age-group athletes who were representing their schools in the South Munster Schools Track & Field Championships in Castleisland on Wednesday 8 th May as they sought qualification for the Munster schools’ finals. Ruaidhri Boyle (Colaiste an Phiarsaigh) had an impressive double gold in the Senior Boys 400m flat and hurdles competitions. Aidan Maher (St.Colmans Fermoy)also doubled up in the Senior Boys 1500m and 1500m steeplechase winning bronze in both races.
Lucy Lynch (St.Aloysius, Carrigtohill) was pushed all the way in the Intermediate girls 300m but held on well to take the gold medal, Lucy also ran the anchor leg in the winning 4 x 300m relay team in another close race. Caoimhe-Gray Walsh (Loreto, Fermoy) won silver in the intermediate girls 800m in a time of 2:30.63. Laura Moore (Loreto Fermoy) placed 4 th in the Intermediate girls 3k with both Caoimhe and Laura combining in the relay competition. Also in girls Intermediate competition, Aoife Martin (Colaiste an Phiarsaigh) continued her winning streak with victory in the Racewalk in a time of 5:35.60. Jennifer Murphy was 4 th in her heat of the girls intermediate 100m hurdles and was part of the first ever Colaiste an Phiarsaigh Junior relay team with Rachel Cuthbert (competed in the 100m), Lucy Davis (4 th in Junior 75m hurdles heat) and Cliodhna McCarthy (competed in Junior 100m). Aoileann Boyle (Colaiste an Phiarsaigh) won a bronze medal in the minor girls long Jump with a best of 4.02m and also progressed to the final of the 100m finishing in 5 th place. Robyn Maher (Loreto Fermoy) and Anna Mullins (St.Angelas) were 1 st and 2 nd respectively in the Junior girls’ racewalk. Congratulations to all our athletes who performed brilliantly on the day.
Other news: Tadhg Crowley ran a fast time of 16:57 in the sold-out Bweeng 5k finishing in 21st place overall. In the BHAA Pfizer 6-mile, just 3 seconds separated Darragh O’Keefe (38:08) and Conor Kelly (38:11) in 37 th and 38 th places respectively, great running!
Look Forward: Best of luck to our athletes representing their schools in the Munster Schools Finals in Templemore on Saturday 18 th and to Ciaran Nugent who will compete in the 400m Hurdles at the National Senior May Open in Morton Stadium on the 19th.
Report by Richard Hawkins.
Featured Image: Carraig na bhFear AC's Tadhg Crowley at the Bweeng 5k. Photo by Joe Murphy.